'■-""'i^K^:.  ^_ 


^'^^ 


I'Jillian  Mer.de 


A  Brief  Revieu  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  Vir- 
ginia from  it?5  first 
establishment  to  the 
Present  Time. 


»•" 


^,  BRIEF  REVIEW  .#^!Lti!!!!'^^ 


OF   THE 


EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  IN  VIRGINIA, 


FROM    ITS   FIRST   ESTABLISHMENT   TO   THE    PRESENT   TIME  ; 


BEING  PART  OF  AN  ADDRESS 


OF   THE 


RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  MEADE,  D.D., 


BISHOP  OF  VIRGINIA, 


CONVENTION  OF  THE  CHURCH,  IN  FREDERICKSBURG, 


May  22nd,  1845. 


RICHMOND: 

PRINTED   BY   WM.    MACFARLANE,   "  SOUTHERN   LIT.    MESSENGER"   Oti"FICE. 

•       .        ;  1845.  ' 


1 

Present 

7.S'.;c. 

PRINCETON,  N.  J.                           ^ 

^ 

1! 

1 

_>  :'i 


.    r  ■ 


A  BRIEF  REVIEW    /.^,    juL  8  1910 


EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  IN  VIRGINIA, 


FBOM    ITS    FIRST    ESTABLISHMENT    TO    THE    PRESENT    TIME  ; 


BEING  PART  OF  AN  ADDRESS 


RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  MEADE,  D.D., 


BISHOP  OF  VIRGINIA, 


CONVENTION  OF  THE  CHURCH,  IN  FREDERICKSBURG, 


May  22nd,  1845. 


1 


RICHMOND: 

PRINTED    BY    WM.    MACFARLANE,    "  SOUTHERN   LIT.    MESSENGER"    OFFICE. 

1845. 


I 


A  BRIEF  REVIEW 

OF    THE 

PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


It  is  an  useful  employment  for  societies,  as  well  as  individuals,  at  certain  seasons, 
to  look  back  through  their  past  history  and  mark  the  dealings  of  a  kind  Providence 
towards  them.  The  History  of  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Virginia  has,  by  univer- 
sal consent,  been,  from  the  very  beginning,  a  most  interesting  and  eventful  one — be- 
yond that  of  any  other  Diocese  in  the  union.  I  would  briefly  refer  to  some  of  its 
particulars,  in  order  to  raise  our  hearts  in  gratitude  to  God  for  its  wonderful  preser- 
vation, and  to  make  us  more  faithful  and  zealous  in  using  the  proper  means  for  its 
further  advancement. 

The  Episcopal  Church  of  Virginia  commenced  with  the  first  settlement  of  the 
first  colony.  The  code  of  laws  of  that  colony  was  drawn  up  at  a  time  when 
"  religion,  (as  Bishop  Taylor  expresses  it,)  was  painted  upon  banners,"  for  it  was 
^^  divine,  martial  and  moral,''''  all  in  one,  being  enforced  even  among  Protestants  by 
civil  pains  and  penalties,  which  we  would  fain  now  banish  from  our  recollections, 
and  blot  from  the  page  of  history. 

That  there  was  much  of  sincere  piety  moving  the  hearts  of  those  who  incorpo- 
rated the  forms  of  the  Episcopal  Church  with  the  colony  of  Virginia,  as  well  as  of 
those  who  established  other  forms  among  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  of  New  England,  I 
doubt  not.  Nor  do  I  question  the  piety  and  fidelity  of  some  of  the  people  and 
pastors  during  its  whole  subsequent  history.  But  that  its  spiritual  condition  was 
ever,  at  any  time,  even  tolerably  good,  bearing  a  comparison  with  that  of  the 
Mother  Church,  over  whose  defects  also  there  was  so  much  cause  to  mourn,  faithful 
history  forbids  us  to  believe.  Many  were  the  disadvantages  under  which  she  had 
to  labor,  during  the  whole  period  of  her  existence  in  connexion  with  the  Govern- 
ment of  England,  which  were  well  calculated  to  sink  her  character  beneath  that  of 
the  Church  of  England,  and  of  some  other  Churches  in  America.  Immense  were  the 
difficulties  of  getting  a  full  supply  of  ministers  of  any  character;  and  of  those  who 
came,  how  few  were  faithful  and  duly  qualified  for  the  station.  One  who  was  indeed 
so  faithful  as  to  be  called  the  Apostle  of  Virginia,  at  an  early  period  of  its  settle- 
ment, lamenting  over  the  want  of  ministers  in  the  Colony,  thus  upbraids  those  who 
refused  to  come.     "  Do  they  not  either  wilfully  hide  their  talentSj  or  keep  themselves 


at  home  for  fear  of  losing  a  few  pleasures.  Be  not  there  any  among  them  of  Moses 
and  his  mind,  and  of  the  apostles,  who  forsook  all  to  follow  Christ"!"  The  Council 
of  Virginia  also  addressed  the  most  solemn  and  pathetic  appeals  to  the  Clergy  of 
England,  beseeching  them  to  come  over  to  the  work  of  the  Lord  in  the  Colony — 
though  it  is  to  be  feared  with  little  success — for  in  the  year  1665  it  is  recorded,  that 
many  places  were  destitute  of  ministers,  and  like  still  to  continue  so,  the  people 
not  paying  their  "  accustomed  dues."  There  were  at  this  time  about  fifty  parishes 
in  the  Colony,  most  of  which  were  destitute  of  clergymen,  as  there  were  only  ten 
ministers  for  their  supply.  To  remedy  this  evil,  it  was  proposed  to  establish  in  the 
English  Universities  Virginia  fellowships,  imposing  it  as  a  condition,  that  the  fel- 
lows spend  seven  years  in  Virginia ;  but  we  do  not  read  of  its  execution. 

That  the  ministers  then  in  the  Colony  were  men  of  zeal  can  scarce  be  supposed, 
as  a  law  was  required  enjoining  it  upon  them  to  preach  constantly  every  Sabbath 
and  administer  the  sacrament  at  least  twice  every  year. 

If  we  proceed  in  the  history  of  the  Colony  another  fifty  years,  which  will  carry 
us  beyond  the  first  century  of  its  existence,  we  shall  find  only  a  few  more  parishes 
established,  and  though  glebes  and  parishes  had  been  provided,  not  more  than  one 
half  of  the  congregations  were  supplied  with  ministers,  the  rest  being  served  by 
lay-readers.  In  some  places  indeed  lay  readers  were  preferred  to  settled  minis- 
ters, because  less  expensive  to  the  parishioners.  The  tenure  by  which  ministers 
held  their  livings  was  precarious,  and  this  contributed  to  the  negligence  of  some,  and 
was  a  severe  trial  to  the  fidelity  of  the  more  worthy.  If  a  clergyman  was  faithful 
to  his  duty  and  preached  against  the  vices  of  the  people,  he  was  removed ;  "  and 
instances  are  numerous  of  clergyman  having  been  displaced  by  vestries  with- 
out a  charge  made,  or  even  a  reason  assigned  for  it."*  The  effect  of  this  on  the 
better  portion  of  the  English  Clergy  who  might  be  disposed  to  emigrate  need  not 
be  stated.  As  to  the  unworthy  and  hireling  Clergy  of  the  Colony,  there  was  no 
ecclesiastical  discipline  to  correct  or  punish  their  irregularities  and  vices.  The 
authority  of  a  Commissary  was  a  very  insufficient  substitute  for  the  superintendence 
of  a  faithful  Bishop.  The  better  part  of  the  Clergy,  and  some  of  the  laity,  long 
and  earnestly  petitioned  for  a  faithful  resident  Bishop,  for  the  Bishop  of  London 
was  of  necessity  only  the  nominal  Bishop. 

For  about  two  hundred  years  did  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Virginia  try  the  expe- 
riment of  a  system,  whose  constitution  required  such  an  head,  but  was  actually 
without  it.  No  such  officer  was  there,  as  the  Church  requires,  to  watch  over  the 
conduct,  and  punish  the  vices  of  the  Clergy  ;  none  to  administer  the  rite  of  Confirma- 
tion, and  thus  admit  the  faithful  to  the  Supper  of  the  Lord. 

It  must  be  evident,  that  the  Episcopal  Church  without  such  an  officer  is  more 

*  Dr.  Hawkes'  history  of  the  Church  of  Virginia,  from  which  interesting  and  faitliful  work 
the  facts  en:ibodierl  in  this  sfntement  are  taken. 


likel)'  to  suffer  for  the  want  of  Godly  discipline,  than  any  other  society  of  Chris- 
tians, because  all  others  have  some  substitute,  whereas  our  own  Church  makes  this 
office  indispensable  to  some  important  parts  of  ecclesiastical  government  and  dis- 
cipline. 

Such  being  the  corrupt  state  of  the  Church  in  Virginia,  it  is  not  wonderful  that 
here,  as  in  England,  disaffection  should  take  place  and  dissent  begin.  The  preaching 
and  zeal  of  Mr.  Whitfield,  who  visited  Virginia  about  this  time,  contrasted  with  the 
sermons  and  lives  of  the  Clergy  generally,  contributed  no  doubt  to  increase  disaf- 
fection. The  pious  Mr.  Davies,  afterwards  President  of  Princeton  College,' 
made  the  first  serious  inroad  upon  the  unity  of  the  Church.  His  candid  testimony 
deserves  to  be  here  introduced.  "  I  have  reason  to  hope,"  he  says,  "  that  there 
are  and  have  been  a  few  names  in  various  parts  of  the  Colony  who  are  sincerely 
seeking  the  Lord,  and  groping  after  religion  in  the  communion  of  the  Church  of 
England."  "  Had  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  been  solemnly  and  faithfully  preached 
in  the  established  Church,  I  am  persuaded  there  would  have  been  few  dissenters  in 
these  parts  of  Virginia,  for  their  first  objections  were  not  against  the  peculiar  rites 
and  ceremonies  of  that  church,  much  less  against  her  excellent  articles,  but  against 
the  general  strain  of  the  doctrines  delivered  from  the  pulpit,  in  which  these  articles 
were  opposed,  (or  which  was  the  more  common  case,)  not  mentioned  at  all,  so  that 
at  first  they  were  not  properly  dissenters  from  the  original  constitution  of  the  Church 
of  England,  but  the  most  strict  adherents  to  it,  and  only  dissented  from  those  who 
had  forsaken  it." 

That  there  was  at  this  time  not  only  defective  preaching,  but,  as  might  be  expected, 
most  evil  living  among  the  Clergy,  is  evident  from  a  petition  of  the  Clergy  them- 
selves to  the  Legislature,  asking  an  increase  of  salary  saying,  "  that  the  small  encou- 
ragement given  to  Clergymen  is  a  reason  why  so  few  come  into  this  Colony  from 
the  Universities,  and  that  so  many  who  are  a  disgrace  to  the  ministry  find  oppor- 
tunities to  fill  the  parishes." 

It  is  a  well  established  fact,  that  some  who  were  discarded  from  the  English 
Church,  yet  obtained  livings  in  Virginia. 

Such  being  the  case,  who  can  question  for  a  moment  the  entire  accuracy  of  the 
account,  both  of  the  preaching  and  living  of  the  Clergy  of  his  day,  as  given  by 
the  faithful  and  zealous  Mr.  Jarrett,  and  who  could  blame  him  for  the  encourage- 
ment afforded  to  the  disciples  of  Mr.  Wesley,  at  a  time  when  neiiiier  he,  nor 
they,  thought  there  could  be  a  separation  from  the  Church  of  England. 

Dissent,  from  various  causes,  was  now  spreading  through  the  commonwealth  ;  dis- 
satisfiiction  with  the  Mother  Country  and  Mother  Church  was  increasing,  and  the 
Episcopal  Clergy  losing  more  and  more  the  favor  of  God  and  man,  when  this  devo- 
ted minister,  almost  alone  in  preaching  and  living  according  to  the  doctrine,  disci- 
pline and  worship   of  the   Protestant  Episcopal   Church,    was  glad   to  avail  hiiu- 


6 

self  of  any  aid  in  the  good  work  he  was  endeavoring  to  perform.  For  the  time, 
however,  his  efforts  were  unavailing.  The  war  of  the  Revolution  was  approaching, 
and  with  it  the  downfiill  of  ihe  Church. 

Many  circumstances  contributed  to  this  event.  The  severities  exercised  towards 
some  of  the  dissenters  in  times  past  had  embittered  their  minds  against  the  decli- 
ning establishment. 

The  attachment  of  some  of  the  Clergy  to  the  cause  of  the  king  subjected  the 
Church  itself  to  suspicion,  and  gave  further  occasion  to  its  enemies  to  seek  its  de- 
struction. The  dispute  about  Church  property  now  came  on,  and  for  twenty-seven 
years  was  waged  with  bitterness  and  violence.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war 
of  the  Revolution,  Virginia  had  ninety-one  Clergymen,  officiating  in  one  hundred 
and  sixty-four  Churches  and  Chapels  ;  at  its  close  only  twenty-eight  ministers  were 
found  laboring  in  the  less  desolate  parishes  of  the  State.  Whithernumbers  of  them 
had  fled,  and  to  what  secular  pursuits  some  of  them  had  betaken  themselves,  it  is 
not  in  our  power  to  state.  Had  they  been  faithful  shepherds,  they  would  not  have 
thus  deserted  their  flocks.  We  come  now  to  the  efforts  of  the  more  faithful, 
though  faint-hearted  ones,  to  strengthen  the  things  that  remained  and  were  ready 
to  die. 

In  common  with  some  other  Dioceses,  the  Church  in  Virginia  resolved  on  an 
effort  to  obtain  consecration  from  abroad  for  a  Bishop  who  might  complete  her  im- 
perfect organization.  A  very  worthy  man,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Griffith,  was  selected  for 
the  purpose ;  but  so  depressed  was  her  condition,  so  little  zeal  was  found  in  her 
members,  that  though  for  three  successive  years  calls  were  made  upon  the  parishes 
for  funds  to  defray  his  expenses  to  England,  only  twenty-eight  pounds  were  raised, 
a  sum  altogether  insufficient  for  the  purpose,  so  that  the  effort  on  his  part  was  aban- 
doned through  poverty  and  domestic  affliction. 

Even  at  a  subsequent  period,  when  renewed  efforts,  prompted  by  shame  at  past 
failures,  and  a  sense  of  duty  to  the  Church,  were  made  to  secure  what  was  neces- 
sary for  Bishop  Madison's  consecration,  a  sufficiency,  even  with  some  foreign  aid, 
was  not  obtained  to  pay  all  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  voyage.  The  object, 
however,  was  accomplished,  and  at  the  end  of  almost  two  hundred  years  from 
the  establishment  of  a  most  imperfect  Church  in  Virginia  a  Bishop  was  obtained. 

But  she  was  too  far  gone,  and  there  were  too  many  opposing  difficulties  for  her 
revival  at  that  time.  From  the  addresses  of  Bishop  Madison  to  the  Episcopalians 
of  Virginia,  it  will  be  seen  that  he  entered  on  his  duties  with  no  little  zeal  and  with 
very  just  views  of  the  kind  of  men  and  measures  necessary  for  the  work  of 
revival.  He  plainly  admits  the  want  of  zeal  and  fidelity  in  many  of  the  ministers 
as  one  of  the  causes  of  the  low  condition  of  the  Church,  and  that  the  contrary 
qualifications  were  indispensable  to  her  resuscitation.     He  made  an  ineffectual 


effort  at  bringing  back  into  the  bosom  of  the  Church  the  followers  of  Mr.  Wesley, 
for  they  had  now  entirely  separated  from  her. 

After  a  few  partial  visitations  of  the  Diocese,  his  hopes  of  the  revival  of  the 
Church  evidently  sunk;  and  the  duties  of  the  College  of  William  and  Mary,  of 
which  he  was  President,  requiring  his  attention  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year, 
at  the  Convention  of  1805,  he  called  for  a  Suffragan  or  Assistant  Bishop.  The  sub- 
ject was  referred  to  the  next  year's  Convention,  but  no  such  meeting  was  held,  nor 
was  there  another  until  after  his  death.  For  seven  years  it  seemed  as  if  the  worst 
hopes  of  her  enemies  and  most  painful  fears  of  her  friends  were  about  to  be  real- 
ized in  her  entire  destruction.  In  the  General  Convention  of  the  Church,  held  in 
the  city  of  New  Haven  in  1811,  there  was  no  representation,  nor  any  report  what- 
ever from  Virginia,  but  the  following  entry  is  found  on  the  journal,  "  they  fear, 
indeed,  that  the  Church  in  Virginia  is,  from  various  causes,  so  depressed,  that  there 
is  danger  of  her  total  ruin,  unless  great  exertions,  favored  by  the  blessing  of  Pro- 
vidence, are  employed  to  raise  her." 

During  the  ensuing  spring  Bishop  Madison  died,  and  shortly  after  a  Convention 
of  the  Clergy  and  Laity  was  invited  by  Dr.  Buchanan,  at  the  instance  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Wilmer  and  myself,  both  of  us  then  ministering  in  Alexandria,  for  the 
purpose  of  electing  a  Bishop.  Important  as  was  the  object,  and  imperious  as  was 
the  necessity  of  such  a  meeting  in  order  to  the  existence  of  the  Church,  only  thir- 
teen Clergymen,  and  about  as  many  Laymen,  were  found,  who  had  interest  enough 
in  the  cause  to  come  together.  The  result  was  the  election  of  Dr.  Bracken  to  the 
vacant  Episcopate,  who,  however,  declined  at  the  ensuing  Convention.  At  that 
Convention,  only  eight  Clergymen  and  ten  Laymen  met  together  for  a  few  hours 
around  a  table  in  one  of  the  committee  rooms  of  the  Capitol,  in  Richmond,  and 
when  they  separated,  scarce  expected  ever  to  meet  again  for  ecclesiastical  purposes. 

During  the  following  year,  however,  in  the  good  providence  of  God,  circumstan- 
ces arose  which  led  to  further  efforts.  The  Monumental  Church,  built  on  the  ruins 
of  the  Richmond  Theatre,  needed  a  minister;  and  the  minds  of  a  few  individuals 
interested  for  a  suitable  supply  for  that  interesting  station,  and  also  for  the  vacant 
Episcopate,  were  by  a  most  gracious  overruling  Providence  directed  to  one  at 
a  distance,  personally  unknown  to  any,  and  only  by  good  report  to  a  very  few.  I 
need  not  add  that  the  person  alluded  to  was  the  good  Bishop  Moore,  so  lono-  the 
affectionate  pastor  of  one  of  the  Churches  in  Richmond,  and  the  beloved  Bishop  of 
Virginia.  At  the  Convention,  however,  which  elected  him,  only  seven  Clergymen 
were  present.  It  would  thus  appear,  that  after  the  lapse  of  two  hundred  years,  the 
Church  of  Virginia  was  reduced  to  about  the  same  number  of  ministers,  which 
served  at  her  altars  during  the  first  ten  years  of  her  existence.  And  is  it  wonder- 
ful that  many,  even  of  sincere  friends,  should  think  that  the  effort  at  resuscitation 
must  be  fruitless,  and  that  enemies  poured  derision  upon  the  same.     I  well  remem- 


8 

bcr,  even  some  years  after  this,  and  when  our  prospects  had  brightened  not  a  little, 
as  I  presented  a  petition  to  that  great  and  good  man,  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  a  true 
friend  to  the  Church,  asking  a  contribution  to  our  Seminary,  that,  although  with  his  ac- 
customed liberality,  he  freely  gave,  he  yet  accompanied  the  gift  with  a  remark,  "  that 
it  seemed  almost  cruel  to  tempt  young  men  to  enter  the  ministry  of  a  Church  which 
was  too  far  gone  ever  to  be  recovered."  But  he  lived  long  enough  to  rejoice  in 
his  mistake,  and  to  see  children,  and  children's  children,  blessed  by  the  fruits  of  an 
Institution  which  he  feared  might  be  worse  than  useless.  I  may  be  permitted  to 
add,  that  when  the  Church  of  Virginia,  at  an  early  period,  wished  to  unite  sister 
Dioceses  with  her  in  the  great  work  of  ministerial  education,  it  was  made  an  objec- 
tion to  the  proposal,  that  her  morals  and  religion  were  so  corrupt,  that  it  would  be 
unsafe  to  trust  such  an  institution  within  her  borders.  We  wonder  not  at  such 
reproaches,  although  they  may  sometimes  have  come  with  an  ill  grace  from  those 
who  made  them,  seeing  that  the  whole  Church  largely  partook  of  the  same  cor- 
ruption. I  can  remember  too  well  the  time  when,  in  every  educated  young 
man  of  Virginia,  I  was  prepared  to  meet  a  sceptic,  if  not  a  scoffer.  At  the  time 
of  my  first  ordination,  by  Bishop  Madison,  about  a  year  before  his  death,  although 
it  took  place  on  a  bright  Sabbath  morning,  only  about  fifteen  gentlemen,  young  and 
old,  and  two  ladies,  were  present  in  the  old  and  venerable  churtfh  of  Williamsburg. 
More  of  the  young  men  indeed  did  I  meet  on  my  way  to  the  Church,  with  guns  on 
their  shoulders  and  dogs  at  their  sides,  going  into  the  fields  and  woods  in  search 
of  game,  than  were  to  be  found  in  the  Church  itself. 

And  what  more  could  be  expected  from  the  character  of  the  Clergy  generally 
at  that  time,  or  for  a  long  time  before.  It  is  a  melancholy  fact  that  many  of  them 
had  been  addicted  to  the  race-field,  the  card-table,  the  ball-room,  the  theatre — nay, 
more,  to  the  drunken  revel.  One  of  them,  about  the  very  period  of  which  I  am 
speaking,  was,  and  had  been  for  years,  the  President  of  a  Jockey  Club.  Another, 
after  abandoning  the  ministry,  fought  a  duel  in  sight  of  the  very  Church  in  which 
he  had  performed  the  solemn  offices  of  religion.  Nothing  was  more  common,  even 
with  the  better  portion  of  them,  than  to  celebrate  the  holy  ordinance  of  Baptism, 
not  amidst  the  prayers  of  the  congregation,  but  the  festivities  of  the  feast  and  the 
dance,  the  minister  sometimes  taking  a  full  share  in  all  that  was  going  on.  These 
things  being  so,  and  the  Churches  having  been,  on  account  of  such  things,  almost 
entirely  deserted,  or  else  occupied  by  those  who  only  held  our  Zion  up  to  derision, 
what  but  a  firm  conviction  of  God's  watchful  providence  over  her  could  keep  alive 
hope  in  the  most  ardent  of  her  friends'?  How  often,  in  looking  at  the  present  com- 
parative prosperity  of  the  Church,  do  we  say,  surely  God  must  have  greatly  loved 
this  branch  of  his  Holy  Catholic  Church,  or  he  would  not  have  borne  so  long  with 
her  unfaithfulness,  and  so  readily  forgiven  her  sins. 

It  becomes  us,  my  Brethren,  with  deep  humility  and  lively  gratitude,  to  compare 


together  our  past  and  present  condition,  and  say  "  what  hath  God  wrought  V  If, 
towards  the  close  of  two  hundred  years,  there  were  nearly  one  hundred  ministers 
and  one  hundred  and  sixty  Churches,  and  then  in  seven  years  after  only  a  few 
faint-hearted  ones,  serving  in  the  few  remaining  and  almost  deserted  sanctuaries  ; 
now  again,  after  the  labors  of  only  one-third  of  a  century,  our  hundred  ministers 
are  restored,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  churches  at  least  are  open  for  the  people 
of  God.  If  for  two  hundred  years  not  a  Bishop  ever  visited  the  Diocese,  and 
even  after  one  was  sent,  only  a  few  ministrations  were  performed  ;  now  two  Bishops 
have  full  employment  in  visiting  nearly  two  hundred  Churches  or  stations.  If  it 
was  for  years  found  impracticable  to  raise  sufficient  funds  for  the  consecration  of 
one  Bishop  ;  now  funds  are  raised  for  the  annual  support  of  two,  independent  of 
parochial  charges.  If  it  was  once  proposed  in  a  declining  state  of  the  Church, 
but  in  vain,  to  raise  funds  for  the  education  of  only  two  candidates  for  the  ministry; 
now  more  than  fifty  are  receiving  preparatory  instruction  at  our  Seminary.  Whereas 
formerly  we  were  entirely  dependent  on  foreign  parts  for  our  supply  of  Clergy- 
men, insufficient  as  to  numbers,  and  worse  as  to  character;  now  by  the  blessing  of 
God  on  our  Seminary  we  are  enabled  to  send  forth  to  the  decayed  Churches,  or  to 
the  heathen  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  a  goodly  number  of  faithful  and  zealous 
missionaries  of  the  cross.  Whereas  formerly  and  for  at  least  a  century,  numbers 
were  deserting  our  communion,  as  that  which  had  deserted  God,  and  was  deserted 
of  God  ;  now,  for  the  last  thirty  years  or  more,  either  themselves  or  their  children, 
or  children's  children,  have  in  considerable  numbers  been  returning  to  our  fold, 
as  to  one  which  God  himself  was  keeping  and  blessing.  Whereas  once,  almost  all 
men  thought  and  spoke  ill  of  our  Clergy  and  communicants,  as  devoid  of  piety; 
now,  only  those  who  are  misinformed,  or  most  prejudiced,  refuse  to  acknowledge 
that  through  God's  grace  there  is  at  least  as  large  an  amount  of  true  piety  in 
both  priests  and  people,  as  is  to  be  found  in  those  of  any  other  denomination. 
Whereas,  once,  we  had  for  many  years  no  conventions,  and  then  for  some  years 
a  few  faint-hearted  ministers  and  people  meeting  together  ;  now,  what  numbers  of 
Clergy  and  Laity  delight  to  assemble,  not  for  the  dry  business  of  legislation  only,  or 
for  religious  controversy,  but  chiefly  for  the  blessed  privilege  of  joining  hearts  and 
voices  in  the  sweet  exercises  of  God's  word  and  worship,  and  thus  becoming  knit 
together  in  love. 

Thus  graciously  hath  God  dealt  with  us.  But  does  it  not,  out  of  gratitude  to 
God,  and  that  we  may  continue  to  enjoy  his  smiles,  become  us  to  enquire  by  what 
means  this  hath  been  done ;  how  our  Jacob  arose,  when  he  was  not  only  so  small, 
but  crushed  to  the  earth,  trodden  under  foot  of  man,  after  having  been  betrayed  by 
friends,  and  dishonored  by  the  very  ministers  of  God  who  were  appointed  to  de- 
fend him.  In  the  character,  habits,  views  and  history  of  the  man  whom  God  sent 
to  us  from  a  distance,  to  be  our  head  and  leader  in  this  work,  and  in  the  views  of 


10 

those,  whether  from  our  own  State  or  elsewhere,  who  entered  into  the  service, 
may  be  seen  the  religious  principles  and  methods  of  action,  by  which,  under  God, 
the  change  has  been  effected ;  and  it  need  not  be  said,  how  entirely  different  they 
were  from  those  by  which  the  disgrace  and  downfall  of  the  Church  had  been 
wrought.  Of  the  efficacy  of  these  means,  we  are  the  more  convinced,  from  the 
peculiar  and  very  great  difficulties  to  be  surmounted,  which  have  nevertheless,  in 
a  great  measure,  been  surmounted.  We  are  persuaded  that,  in  no  part  of  our  own 
land,  were  such  strong  prejudices,  and  such  violent  oppositions  to  be  overcome,  as 
in  Virginia,  in  consequence  of  the  former  character  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy,  and 
the  long  and  bitter  strife  which  had  existed  between  the  Church  and  those  who  had 
left  its  pale,  which  latter  were  never  satisfied  until  the  downfall  of  the  former  was 
accomplished. 

Let  me  briefly  allude  to  the  means  used.  Bishop  Moore,  in  his  previous  cor- 
respondence, and  his  first  sermon  and  address,  declared  his  determination  to  preach 
as  he  had  ever  done,  when  God  so  greatly  blessed  his  ministry,  the  glorious  doc- 
trines of  grace,  instead  of  a  mere  morality,  such  as  many  of  the  English  Clergy 
had  once  preached,  and  such  as  had  been  but  too  common  in  Virginia.  The  young 
clergy,  who  engaged  in  the  revival  of  the  church  of  Virginia,  took  the  same  re- 
solve, and  made  the  great  theme  of  their  preaching  Jesus  Christ  and  him  cruci- 
fied, on  the  ground  of  a  total  apostacy  from  God  on  the  part  of  man,  which  requi- 
red such  a  sacrifice,  as  well  as  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  order  to  meet- 
ness  for  the  joys  of  Heaven.  But  they  did  not  turn  this  grace  of  God  into  licen- 
tiousness, and  think  that  either  priest  or  people  might  indulge  in  sin.  Among  the 
first  acts  of  the  earlier  Conventions,  it  will  be  seen  that  it  was  at  once  set  forth 
before  the  world,  that  the  revival  of  the  Church  was  to  be  undertaken  on  principles 
entirely  different  from  those  which  had  hitherto  prevailed,  and  under  the  influence 
of  which  religion  had  been  so  dishonored.  It  was  plainly  declared  that  there  was 
need  of  discipline  both  for  clergy  and  laity  ;  and  canons  were  provided  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  same.  Not  merely  were  grosser  vices  stigmatised,  but,  what  by 
some  were  considered  the  innocent  amusements  of  the  world,  and  which  the  Cler- 
gy themselves  had  advocated  and  practised,  were  condemned  as  inconsistent 
with  the  character  of  a  Christian  Professor. 

Baptism,  by  which  we  renounce  the  poinps  and  vanities  of  the  world,  as  well  as 
the  sinful  lusts  of  the  flesh,  and  which  had  been  customarily  celebrated  in  private, 
directly  in  opposition  to  the  rubric,  and  often  amidst  ungodly  festivities,  was  now 
sought  to  be  performed  only  in  the  house  of  God,  and  with  pious  sponsors,  instead 
of  thoughtless  and  irreligious  ones.  Candidates  for  confirmation,  instead  of  be- 
ing presented  because  they  had  reached  a  certain  age,  and  could  repeat  the  cat- 
echism, were  told  what  a  solemn  vow,  promise  and  profession  they  were  about  to 
make,  and  that  it  was  none  other  than  an  immediate  introduction  with  full  qualifica- 


11 

tion  to  tlie  Lord's  Supper.  Of  course,  very  different  views  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, and  the  conduct  of  connmunicants  were  inculcated,  and  the  Minister  even 
bound,  by  express  canon,  to  converse  with  each  one,  before  admittino;  him  for  the 
first  time  to  the  Lord's  Supper.  Thus,  were  the  whole  tone  and  standard  of  reli- 
gion changed,  to  the  dissatisfaction  and  complaint,  it  is  true,  of  some  of  the  old 
members  of  the  Church,  and  not  without  condemnation  of  some  from  abroad. 

In  due  time,  the  important  measure  of  requiring  that  all  who  enter  our  Conven- 
tion to  legislate  for  Christians  and  Christian  Ministers,  should  themselves  be 
Christian  professors,  was  adopted,  though  there  were  those  at  home,  who  feared 
the  attempt,  and  there  were  those  abroad,  who  prophesied  evil  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  encourage  disaffection  at  home.  But  God  was  with  us,  and  has  granted 
most  entire  success. 

As  to  the  manner  of  exciting  zeal  in  Christians,  and  awakening  interest  in 
those  who  were  not,  it  was  thought  that  no  better  example  could  be  followed,  than 
that  of  the  Apostles,  who  preached  not  only  in  the  temple  and  synagogues,  but,  in 
some  places,  from  house  to  house,  as  occasion  required,  and  opportunity  offered. 
As  to  the  manner  ot  preaching,  written  sermons  were  generally  preferred  in 
the  pulpit ;  extemporaneous  exhortations  were  often  resorted  to  in  smaller  assem- 
blies ;  and,  without  slighting  the  excellent  prayers  of  our  Liturgy,  there  were  many 
occasions,  both  in  private  families,  and  in  social  meetings,  when  extemporaneous 
petitions  seemed  edifying  both  to  the  pastor  and  his  flock.  As  to  the  great  be- 
nevolent and  religious  institutions  of  the  age,  our  Ministers  felt  that  they  were  do- 
ing well  to  encourage  their  people  to  a  lively  participation  in  them.  The  Mis- 
sionary and  Bible  Societies,  the  Colonization  and  Temperance  Societies  especial- 
ly, received  their  most  cordial  support,  and  they  considered  it  a  subject  of  devout 
thankfulness  to  God,  if  their  congregations  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  same. 

To  provoke  each  other  and  their  congregations  to  zeal  in  all  good  works,  and 
especially  to  awaken  the  careless  to  a  sense  of  their  lost  condition,  the  Ministers 
would  meet  together  occasionally,  and  for  several  successive  days,  make  full  trial 
of  prayer  and  God's  word,  expecting  the  blessing  promised  to  two  or  three  who 
come  together  and  ask  somewhat  of  God. 

To  these,  I  will  only  add  a  few  words  as  to  the  spirit  cherished,  and  the  course 
pursued  towards  our  Christian  brethren  who  walk  not  with  us  in  all  things  of  Church 
order  and  worship. 

We  have  seen  how  long  and  bitter  the  strife  that  subsisted  between  them  and  our 
fathers,  how  violent  the  prejudices  that  raged  against  us ;  and  it  would  have  been 
easy  to  enter  on  the  work  of  revival  in  the  spirit  of  retaliation  and  fierce  opposi- 
tion. But  would  it  have  been  right,  and  as  our  Master  would  have  had  us  do? 
Had  not  our  forefathers  done  religion  and  them  some  wrong?  Had  not  God  made 
much  use  of  them  for  good  to  religion?     Were  they   not  most  sincere  in  their  fear 


12 

of  us,  and  opposition  to  US'?  Did  it  not  become  us  rather  to  win  them  over  by 
love,  and  secure  their  esteem  by  living  and  preaching  differently  from  our  prede- 
cessors'? 

Such  was  the  conciliatory  course  pursued  by  our  deceased  Father  in  God,  and 
followed  by  those  who  perceived  the  good  effects  of  his  example;  and  most  happy 
was  the  effect  of  the  same. 

And  now,  brethren,  are  there  any  who,  in  view  of  the  past,  and  of  God's  bless- 
ing upon  the  doctrines  preached,  and  the  measures  adopted,  would,  for  a  moment, 
listen  to  the  proposal  of  a  change?  More  especially,  when  we  remember,  that  in 
the  course  adopted  by  us,  we  only  followed  closely  in  the  footsteps  of  a  noble  host 
of  faithful  Ministers  and  Laymen  in  our  Mother  Church,  who,  during  the  last  fifty 
years,  have  been  so  successfully  engaged  in  the  work  of  her  revival.  Though  not 
so  deeply  corrupted  as  the  Church  of  Virginia,  yet  was  the  English  Church  most 
sadly  defective,  both  in  doctrine  and  practice.  But  God  raised  up  the  Venns, 
Newtons,  Scolts,  Cecils,  Martins,  Buchannans,  among  the  Clergy,  and  the  Wil- 
berforces,  Thorntons,  Grants,  and  Hannah  Moores,  among  the  Laity,  to  bear  their 
testimony  against  the  jejune  morality  of  the  pulpit,  and  to  condemn,  as  well  by 
their  writings  as  example,  the  worldliness  both  of  Clergy  and  people  in  that  day. 
And  what  a  blessed  change  has  been  effected!  None  pretend,  for  a  moment,  to 
question  either  the  effect  or  the  cause  thereof.  And  yet,  alas  !  so  fickle,  so  fond 
of  various  experiment  is  man,  there  are  not  a  few,  who,  within  the  last  twelve 
years,  while  lavishing  praises  on  those  who  were  the  chief  instruments  of  the  hap- 
py change,  have  yet  proposed  to  do  more  good  by  means  and  instruments  widely 
different  from  those  which  Heaven  has  so  greatly  blessed  for  the  last  half  centu- 
ry. I  need  not  tell  of  the  confusion,  discord  and  unhappiness  already  produced  by 
the  unwise  experiment,  and  the  injury  our  Church  is  suffering  thereby.  We,  my 
brethren  of  the  Clei-gy  and  Laity,  will  keep  to  the  old  ways,  assured  that  he,  "in 
whom  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turning,"  will  continue  to  bless  us  as  he 
has  done,  and  yet  more  abundantly,  if  we  will  only  be  more  faithful  in  those  ways. 

And  while  we  have  reason  at  thought  of  our  present,  by  comparison  with  our 
past  condition,  to  exclaim  "what  hath  God  done,"  "to  thank  Him  and  take  cou- 
rage," yet  should  we  beware  of  boasting,  or  of  supposing  that  all  is  done,  or  that 
what  remains  will  certainly  and  easily  be  done.  I  consider  it  as  the  great  error 
of  many  in  our  Church,  throughout  the  land,  that  we  are  too  much  given  to  boast- 
ing, too  apt  to  overrate  our  own  successes,  and  calculate  too  largely  on  far  greater, 
while  underrating  the  present  or  probable  future  successes  of  others.  God  will,  in 
his  own  way,  correct  us  if  we  be  guilty  of  presumption.  Our  Jacob  is  still  small, 
and  it  becomes  us  now,  as  of  old,  to  ask,  by  whom  shall  he  arise'?  Much  is 
there  yet  to  be  done,  and  there  are  many  difficulties  in  the  way.  Though  we  have 
a  goodly  number  of  Ministers,  yet  by  no  means  enough  to  carry  on  the  work  of  en- 
largement as  we  could  wish,  and  as  the  door  seems  opening  to  us. 


13 

Although  we  have  many  Churches,  yet  how  many  of  the  congregations  are 
small,  and  not  rapidly  increasing,  being  still  unable  to  afford  even  a  moderate  sup- 
port to  the  Ministry. 

Many  are  the  discouragements  which  meet  us  in  our  efforts  to  sustain  some  of 
the  old,  and  to  raise  up  new  congregations.  Among  the  most  painful  is  the  diffi- 
culty of  attaching  the  poor  of  this  world  to  our  communion.  When  our  Lord  was 
on  earth,  he  gave,  as  one  of  the  signs  of  his  heavenly  descent,  the  blessed  fact, 
that  "to  the  poor  the  Gospel  is  preached,"  and  "the  common  people,  it  is  written, 
heard  him  gladly  ;" — ''the  multitudes  followed  him."  Such  should  be  our  constant 
endeavor,  my  brethren  of  the  Clergy  ;  and  if,  from  the  causes  alluded  to  in  the  past 
history  of  our  Church,  one  description  of  the  poor  of  Virginia  have  been  almost 
entirely  alienated  from  us,  let  us  rejoice  to  know  that  there  is  another  description 
not  less  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  Heaven,  who,  if  we  are  kind  to  them,  and  will 
take  due  pains  to  win  them  over,  will  more  easily  be  led  to  come  under  the  faith- 
ful preaching  of  the  word.  The  poor  servants  will,  if  we  persevere  in  our  labors 
of  love  towards  them,  and  be  to  them  what  God's  faithful  pastors  in  every  age 
have  been  to  the  poor,  be  benefitted  by  our  Ministry,  and  may,  if  we  will,  in  con- 
junction with  their  owners,  attend  to  them  betimes  as  we  do  to  our  own  children, 
become  regular  and  pious  members  of  our  communion.  But  whether  we  think  of 
the  rich,  or  the  poor,  or  those  of  any  and  every  condition  and  character  amongst 
us,  with  the  hope  of  converting  them  to  Christ,  and  attaching  them  to  the  com- 
munion of  our  Church,  we  need  not  expect  much  success,  without  much  zeal  and 
diligence,  such  as  was  put  forth  in  our  first  efforts  for  its  resuscitation.  Our 
State  is  not  one  of  those  whose  population  is  rapidly  increasing,  in  which  flour- 
ishing villages  are  springing  up  in  every  direction,  calling  for  neat  Churches  to 
fill  up  the  measure  of  their  beauty  and  excellency,  and  where  the  support  of 
the  Ministry  is  sure,  so  that  our  Zion  must  needs  lengthen  her  chords, 
and  strengthen  her  stakes.  Very  different  is  it  with  us  now,  has  it  been  for  many 
years,  and  will  it  in  all  probability  be,  for  many  years  to  come.  It  is  only  by  pa- 
tient perseverance  in  well-doing,  that  we  can  hope  to  make  advances  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  our  Church.  Much  self-denial,  and  enduring  of  hardship,  and  abound- 
ing in  labors,  and  itinerant  zeal,  and  contentedness  with  a  little  of  this  world's 
goods,  on  the  part  of  many  of  our  Ministers,  are  indispensable  to  the  growth  of 
the  Church  in  Virginia,  much  beyond  her  present  attainment.  Without  these 
things,  she  may  continue  stationary,  or  even  retrograde  in  some  places,  during 
years  to  come.  The  want  of  such  Ministers,  and  the  pressing  demands  of  our 
Missionary  Societies,  and  of  vacant  places  in  other  Dioceses,  depriving  us  of  a 
number  of  our  young  men,  and  of  some  of  those  more  advanced  in  life,  have  left  us, 
during  the  last  year  or  two,  with  a  larger  number  of  destitute  places  than  usual, 
which  I  fear  will  not  be  supplied  during  the  present  year.     In  addition  to  these 


14 

difficulties  in  the  way  of  our  rapid  progress,  requiring  great  zeal  and  self-denial  in 
order  to  advancement,  I  should  suppress  the  truth,  were  I  not  to  say,  that  recent 
circumstances  in  the  history  of  our  own  and  Mother  Church  have  contributed  not 
a  little  to  revive  old  prejudices  and  former  opposition,  which,  for  the  last  thirty 
years,  had  been  gradually  and  happily  subsiding,  under  the  faithful  preaching,  and 
peaceable,  conciliatory  deportment  of  our  Ministers.  The  cry  of  false  doctrine 
and  Romish  tendencies  has  been  renewed  under  circumstances  well  calculated  to 
mislead  the  judgments  of  many  good  people,  who  are  not  so  well  qualified  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  errors  of  individuals  and  the  positive  corruptions  of  a 
Church.  There  are  those,  who,  of  course,  would  make  use  of  these  circumstan- 
ces to  our  injury,  the  temptation  being  too  strong  for  poor  human  nature  entirely 
to  resist.  And  in  what  spirit,  and  with  what  weapons  shall  we  meet  and  contend 
with  this  old  enemy,  now  risen  up  with  renovated  strength  against  us?  Surely  it 
becomes  us  to  remember  in  what  manner,  and  with  what  success,  old  prejudices 
were  put  down,  and  former  opposition  in  a  measure  disarmed.  Let  us  adopt  the 
same  method  now,  when  we  would  overcome  a  less  formidable  foe,  for  it  cannot 
be,  that  prejudice  now  exists  to  the  same  extent  as  formerly.  Making  all  allow- 
ance for  honest  prejudice,  and  little  regarding  any  other,  let  us,  in  the  spirit  of 
Christian  kindness  and  patience,  set  forth  the  true  doctrines  of  our  Church,  as  estab- 
lished by  the  Reformers,  and  their  conformity  with  Scripture,  more  emphatically 
than  ever. 

Let  us  avoid  as  much  as  possible  all  contention,  not  rendering  railing  for  railing, 
but  contrariwise  blessing,  and  thus,  as  in  former  times,  commend  our  Church  to 
the  hearts  and  judgments  of  the  pious  and  peaceable.  I  well  know  the  difficulty 
of  this  in  some  places,  and  under  some  circumstances,  but  am  not  the  less  persua- 
ded of  the  duty,  because  of  its  difficulty,  and  the  temptations  to  an  opposite 
course. 

To  conclude.  In  urging  you,  my  Brethren,  to  an  adherence  to  those  modes  of 
exhibiting  truth,  and  those  means  of  advancing  religion,  which,  in  our  Mother 
Church,  and  in  the  Church  of  Virginia,  liave  been  so  blessed  of  Heaven  ;  in  warn- 
ing you  against  changes  in  this  time  of  innovation;  you  will  not  understand  me  as 
intimating  that  those  who  were  first  engaged  in  the  work  were  incapable  of  error, 
and  that  no  improvement  could  be  made,  neither  that  circumstances  being  changed 
in  the  progress  of  events,  there  might  not  be  some  modifications  in  the  manner  of 
promoting  the  same  great  object. 

I  am  well  aware  of  the  folly  of  supposing  that  anyone  age  or  generation  can  be 
an  unerring  standard  of  truth  and  holiness.  I  admit  the  justness  of  the  wise  son  of 
Sirach's  warning,  "say  not  that  the  former  times  were  better  than  these,  for  thou 
speaketh  not  wisely  concerning  this  thing."  I  admit,  with  readiness  and  gratitude,  a 


15 

general  improvement  in  the  condition  of  mankind,  as  to  morals  and  religion,  not 
only  since  my  own  recollection  and  observation,  but  for  a  much  longer  previous 
period.  I  dissent  entirely  from  those  who  can  see  nothing  but  deterioration  in  the 
history  of  man,  either  in  our  own,  or  other  lands.  I  see  the  very  reverse  of  it  in 
all  Protestant  Christendom,  and  even  in  some  parts  of  the  corrupt  Church  of  Rome. 
Nevertheless,  I  cannot  close  my  eyes  to  the  fact,  that  some  in  the  Episcopal 
Church  of  England  and  America,  in  their  desite  for  its  rapid  extension,  and  its  uni- 
versal prevalence,  and  in  their  haste  to  attain  some  ideal  perfection  of  unity,  have 
embraced  exploded  errors,  and  subjected  the  whole  Church  to  the  charge  of  retra- 
cing its  steps  towards  apostate  Rome.  In  this,  and  in  the  vigorous  and  too  suc- 
cessful efforts  of  Romanists  to  regain  some  of  their  lost  power,  we  may  perhaps 
see  the  approach  of  that  last  fearful  conflict  between  truth  and  error,  which  is,  hap- 
pily, however,  to  be  of  short  duration,  and  to  end  in  a  sure  victory  to  the  former. 
However  this  may  be,  my  Brethren,  and  whether  we  shall  see,  or  be  engaged  in 
this  battle  or  not,  one  thing  is  certain,  that  we  cannot  be  too  earnest  in  our  endea- 
vors, each  one,  after  personal  holiness.  We  need  not  fear  as  an  innovation  or  pre- 
sumption, the  attempt  to  be  more  holy  than  any  who  have  gone  before  us,  pro- 
vided only,  that  we  go  by  the  rule  of  God's  word.  Neither  can  we  be  too  zealous 
and  faithful  in  preaching  according  to  the  law  and  testimony.  If,  in  any  thing,  any 
of  us  find  that  we  have  erred,  laying  too  much  or  too  little  comparative  emphasis 
on  doctrines,  duties,  ordinances,  promises,  threatenings,  or  any  thing  pertaining  to 
the  whole  council  of  God  ;  of  course  it  is  our  duty,  by  the  unerring  word,  to  correct 
the  same,  not  without  a  careful  regard  to  the  warning  and  instructive  voice  of  histo- 
ry, which  shows  how  prone  some  have  been  to  give  to  the  mint,  the  anise  and  cum- 
min of  religion,  that  regard  which  is  due  only  to  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law. 


1 


Date  Due 


OC  13^55 


'^  PRINTED      IN  U.  S.  A. 


;liti!.  %■ 


PHOTOMOUNT 
PAMPHLET  BINDER 

Manu/aclurtJ  iy 

©AYLORD  BROS.  I«c 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Stockton,  Ct\ii. 


fsf 


BX5918.V8M46 

A  brief  review  of  the  Episcopal  church 


